Introducing 6yo (yr2) to play reading - any recommendations please?

[frugalfuzzpig]

DD's biggest target recently has been to put more expression into her reading, and she's worked really hard on this and according to her teacher she's doing well :)

So it occurred to me she might like reading plays with me and DH - I used to love doing this with my mum. And it would provide more practice of course.

Can anyone recommend any simple plays (with only a few characters) that we can use?

Julia Donaldson Play Time (11 short plays)

Wow, that book looks amazing mrz. I'm definitely going to get it for my two kids.

www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_pg_2?rh=n%3A266239%2Ck%3Ajulia+donaldson+plays&page=2&keywords=julia+donaldson+plays&ie=UTF8&qid=1392232556

www.amazon.co.uk/Play-Time-bestselling-author-GRUFFALO/dp/1447231597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392232456&sr=8-1&keywords=play+time+julia+donaldson

Also endorse Play Time. Really useful for confidence building and also great fun! My two now know all the words!

yep the Julia Donaldson one is excellent. You could also look at trying children's poems, we have the Miles Kelly Poems for Young Children book www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/380798947962?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&lpid=95&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=95

or reading any book like Room on the Broom or Shark in the Park. Try acting them out, any story or fairy tale will do. Once they get used to 'being' the character then they will find it easier. Also check the books she is reading aren't too hard for her. if she is concentrating on the text too hard then she won't be able to relax enough to put the expression into it.

also helps if you read a page, she reads the next page, you read a page and so on as then she gets to hear how someone else would read it.

Right, Play Time it is then :o thanks all!

Will have a look at poetry as well. :)

if she is concentrating on the text too hard then she won't be able to relax enough to put the expression into it.

I totally agree, and I think that's why she's now starting to manage it - she reached the stage a little while back where reading the words themselves was no longer such an effort, so it's now easier for her to put in voices and understand characters' feelings etc.

I think it's also helped that we are now reading more chapter books to her at bedtime so she's hearing a lot more expressive dialogue.

yes scheme books are notoriously erm uninteresting so not as much opportunity for expression.

Indeed, it's much better now she's on higher level books as they tend to have better stories and more range. Although we don't have any specific scheme (no ORT :o) so it's not too limited

I looked up Miles Kelly and realised we do have the Jabberwocky one somewhere - will dig that out!